>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are the stories we're following for you. [ bells ringing ] >> on the anniversary of the sandy hook shooting bells toll for the 26 victims. south africans line the street as nelson mandela's body makes the final journey home. and a first for china. it's landed on the moon. the first soft landing there in decades. >> it's been one year when the

tragic day that 20 children and six teachers were killed at sandy hook elementary school. therelsewhere there are many whe remembering the 26 lives cut short. president obama and first lady lit 26 candles at the white house and a moment of silence was observed. >> one year ago six dedicated school workers and 20 beautiful children were taken from our lives forever. as parents, as americans, the news filled us with grief. new town is a town like many of our home towns. the educators and kids could have been any of our own. hearts are broken for apples who lost a piece of their heart. >> a memorial has gone on across the country. moms demand action have a

gathering in miami. tell us what is happening there. >> well, just a while ago there was a solemn gathering here of members of moms demand action here in florida. they donned the colors of the sandy hook victim. they say we are newtown. they also handed out bells and range bells so they can signify that they're honoring those victims. but they also don't want to remain silent. this group was created exactly a year ago a day after the sandy hook massacre, and these moms say they no longer want to remain silent. they said over the years massacres like these, shootings like these on school grounds that have been taking place have occurred over and over, and they felt surely someone would take care of this, someone would do something. who is they who is going to take care of this? so these moms united. they brought their children.

they talked about how important it is to rally and get everybody's involvement. they said that they are no longer going to sit back and just wait to see what happens. they also said that they're seeking changes in the gun laws across the nation. they're reaching out to their legislators. they said they're no longer going to remain silent. there are many things that they want to change about the gun laws now. they don't want to ban the second amendment but they want to change gun laws so that streets can be safer. that's what is happening here today and all across the nation. >> in miami, thank you so much. joining me is skim russell, the national director of communications for moms demand action for gun sense. we're talking about what happened at arapahoe high school in colorado.

what was your reaction to that? >> we were so busy preparing for today. when i heard the news today i thought i was going to be sick to my stomach. i could not believe it was happening again. >> again. also it's so disheartening that these things almost aren't even as shocking an as they need to be because they keep happening. is that a fair assessment? >> reporter: we certainly hope not. that's part of why we came together today. we held over 60 events in 35 states because we can no longer be silent on this country's epidemic of gun violence. we have to remember those lost to gun violence, not just the 26 in newtown but all gun violence. we have to be their voice and fight for better gun laws. >> research from your organization actually used in the daily beast, an investigation that said that since new town at least 24 school shootings have claimed 17

lives. what lessons have been learned since newtown? >> well, we did that research in partnership with mayors against illegal guns. what we're learning from this research is this problem is not going away. we really need to address this issue, and it's going to take every mother out there to use her voice, contact her legislators and insist on common sense gun reform. >> why mothers? >> you know, mothers--mothers have a lot of power. not just in their votes, not just with their voices but we also have a lot of power with our pocketbooks. we make 80% of the household purchasing decisions. we can shop with gun sense. we can shop at stores like costco, starbucks, stores that promote better gun sense and don't want guns in their stores. we can make this issue beyond legislation. we can make it a culture change

as well. >> let's speak to that. when you say a cultural change what is it in the culture you think can change or should change? >> i feel it's really important that gun owners understand that they need to be responsible. we feel strongly that a gun owner needs to be responsible for the safe storage of the gun. when a toddlers gets access to a gun and shoots himself or another child that is not an accident. that is negligence. and the person who owns that gun needs to be responsible. these are the kinds of changes that just make sense and they're not unreasonable, they're not infringing on anyone's rights. these are changes that we need to see enacted as soon as possible. >> are you hopeful? >> i am hopeful. it's been a hard year. we've had disappointments but at the same time we've seen huge gains. we've had sweeping legislation passed in connecticut, new york, colorado, maryland, and states that have often led the way for

federal change. and you think of women suffrage, and it was women who made that happen. >> yesterday's shooting in colorado played out an all too familiar scenario. 18-year-old carl pearson walked into arapahoe high school with a shotgun looking for a teacher. he didn't find him but he shot and critically wound we're live to tell what you is happening. paul, what is thhe west parking,

this morning at 8:00 a.m. that was open for students and parents to come pick up their cars, teachers as happened, andl as what he knew about the attacker. >> he's quiet and has weird logic, just weird inside, not something that a normal high schooler would think about. >> like what? >> just like he was a sel self-proclaimed communist, just his ideas. things like that. just didn't--he's really smart r

here i in arapahoe county. >> a hearse carrying mandela's body arrived in his hometown of qunu today. he'll be bury there tomorrow. we're in qunu right now telling us what the mood is like there. the mood, it seems, continues to be a celebratory one, alan, is that right? >> reporter: absolutely huge good buy to nelson mandela today as the hearse rolled. >> the family compound just down the way down there. a couple of different home comings i want to tell you about, richelle.

our driver is from here. he is a member of the same tribe as the mandelas, and he doesn't get home that often, maybe once or twice a year. here is a look at two different homhome comings. >> this is my mother. >> homecoming. >> another favorite son of the transsky region back where he grew up on a rare visit from the big city. >> i'm happy to see my mother and my family. i'm so happy. >> his grandmother, who also grew up on this farm gathers all of us for a song. [♪ singing ] >> and a prayer offered in thanks for our safe journey with her grandson kwanele at the

wheel on a trip from johannesburg. it's another homecoming from a member of the same tribe that is gathering many to this remote area of south africa's eastern crepe bringing road closures, detours, and a heavy police presence. [♪ singing ] >> local villagers are kept out of the funeral itself, but thousands turned out to line parts of the route from the airport to give nelson mandela a cheering, chanting goo goodbye. he'll be buried in qunu on sunday with viewing services flashed live all over the country.

>> kwanele working several rarely as a driver after being laid off from the gold mine is immensely proud that mandela will be laid to rest here. >> i just hope god will bless africa because of nelson mandela. >> reporter: he's also extremely proud to be able to say that he met nelson mandela several times as a young boy when the then president would come to this region to open a school or attend to family members or some other civic event. >> that's pride. alan, thank you so much. the world will remember nelson mandela as the man who led the fight to end apartheid, but no one who lived under apartheid can ever perfect it. we have one man's story. >> a soccer field is full of broken dreams.

he started this game as a teenager, destined to be a star. he played left midfield and went pro as 19. they called him a dribbling wizard. he got better and better and could have played anywhere, but then it all ended. >> this is my golden boot. i scored a very beautiful goal in 1982. we were champions in 198el 3. >> his home is full of soccer triumphs. and memories of playing german teams when he was just 20. >> the way we played we could match any, any country. we could match brazil then. we could match.

>> we would all know the names zero the hero is not apartheid 37 because he was black he was not allowed on the national team. and because of south africa's segregated teams from banned from traveling he could not go international. like so many black south africas his freedom came too late. nelson mandela arrived too late. >> it could have been different. it could have been far much better. >> eventually fed up, he retired getting a steady job as a 40-year-old black man with no experience outside of soccer was impossible. he joined a real estate firm.

he sold cars. he started a business selling meat and vegetables, and none of them worked. >> that's when the story came to me. i was on the street where mandela used to live. and i didn't know how to react because zero had switched jobs again and had become a driver. and he was my driver. >> two, three. >> reporter: so on a beautiful south african summer day ainvited him to play soccer. [ laughing ] >> he's good. >> are you all right? >> and then in the car as we do every day we started talking. >> how did mandela change your life?

>> mandela is still his hero, but all his dreams he had on the field remained unfulfilled. >> economic opportunities? >> today he hopes to become a coach but the conditions are basic. he needs to pay for a coaching qualification course which he can't afford. so instead he works for the love of the game and for the kids. >> which one of you are going to be like coach? >> me. >> me. >> me. >> he's hoping to give the next

generation the opportunity he was denied. al jazeera, johannesburg. >> china's probe safely touched down on the moon this morning. it is the first lunar landing for china and the first soft landing there since 1976. the probe landed in the bay of rainbows and carrying a solar powered rover called jade rabbit. it will conduct geological surveys. the snowstorm is walloping the northeast. stay with us. >> an al jazeera america exclusive... former president jimmy carter reflects on the life and legacy of nelson mandela. >> that spirit of nelson mandela is embedded deeply in the heart and soul of the south africans... >> they worked side by side for freedom, now president carter talks about mandela's global impact. a revealing interview you won't see anywhere else. >> i've never heard him say, that he was grateful to the united states...

>> talk to al jazeera with jimmy carter only on al jazeera america commanded a king's ransom, 62-year-old nick saban says, "i'm too darn old to start over", he did not adarn, he used the other word. he agreed to a multi year extension remain the coach of crimson tide. >> not one day during the school year goes by where a navy pleeb doesn't hollar beat army, or a cadet, "beat navy." the two oldest dismiss meet for the 114th time. michael eaves has more. >> on paper this game doesn't figure to be much of a battle. 7 and 4 navy against a team posting three wins. the games are not played on paper. the long-standing rivalry is

more than a contest. >> i'm phil torres coming up this week on techknow... for some soldiersknow... the war never ends. watch as a battle once fought in a warzone, comes to life on a video screen. >> he was doused in deisel fuel and he was just in a lot of pain. >> can re-living trauma lead to a cure for ptsd? technow on al jazeera america >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. gearing up for a big snowstorm, what can we expect and what is happening right now. >> meteorologist: by the time it's all said and done this storm will dump a foot of snow over new england. and here in new york city a lot

of us wearing our jackets, temperatures are not going to climb above 26 degrees in new york city the snow falling all the way to chicago. the roads are covered with a bit of snow and you can also see that snow falling across portions of the northeast into new york city as well. we'll continue to have to deal with this throughout the course of the day. travel is very tricky along interstate 80, 90, and across up state portions of main. you can see the snow across illinois, idaho, and pennsylvania--iowa andpennsylva. you can see across the ohio valley and tennessee valley and across georgia, atlanta and north carolina. by tomorrow morning the front will be offshore but the

heaviest precipitation falling this evening into pennsylvania, new york, and in new england where we could see a foot of snow falling. the roads will be treacherous all the way into the northeast. the heaviest of snow falling into new england up to a foot of snow expect there had. three to five inches of snow expected in chicago all the way back into pennsylvania along i i-70 and also along i-80. this afternoon into the evening is when the heaviest of the snowfall is going to fall. we'll see rates of one to two inches per hour. traveling take it easy from detroit to new york city more than a foot of snow expected across portions of new england. if you're throughout, walking, take it easy, have the snow boots on hats, gloves, this is the time of year that we do get

sick because of the whether. >> and check on the elderly as well. >> meteorologist: yes. >> in ukraine, two are under investigation for brutality. tens of thousands of demonstrators continue to rally for and against the current government. violent demonstrations occurred weeks ago when the president decided not to sign a trade deal with the european union. many people carried machetes as they waited in long lines. aid organizers were out numbered, and french patrols said that security risks were too high. secretary at this hour--sectarian violence has crippled the country for weeks.

the state run television in north korea showed kim jong-un visiting. his uncle was executed after a military tribunal. coming up a hit too controversial for mainstream america.

the europe? >> reporter: it does look,

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are the headlines. a teenage girl at colorado remains in critical condition after being shot by a fellow student. 18-year-old carl pearson walked into arapahoe high school with a shotgun looking for a teacher before police could reach him he turned the gun on himself. a di before his burial in his hometown nelson mandela's body arrives. a police and military escort

escorted the hearse into town. china makes a soft landing on the moon. the first unmanned lander to settle on the surface for a three-month exploration. a popular new york musical. >> it's playful, colorful and upbeat. it's this year's tony award fo about a shoemaker whose business is saved by a drag queen who needs sturdy boots. "kinky boots" caused controversial. some tweets from homophobic.

kitschy boots was very inappropriate for young kids like a gay flash mob on my kids in my living room. >> it's hard not to fire back. when people have knee jerk reaction, i want to stand up for the hoe. >> and they called me are you pauru paul,which is doubly racie not every black drag queen looks like ru paul. >> broadway shows are made to entertain but they have a history of addressing social controversy. sometimes when they do business gets a boost. >> i think it's been

demonstrated with a bump of ticket sales after thanksgiving. in that way the controversy boomeranged in the opposite direction. >> this month kinky boots smashed the theater's box off record oh grossing nearly $2 million in a single week. >> any of that publicity helps, great, bring it. >> it also showed how social media can bring in a whole new audience. >> it can bring a conversation in a way that is sowf for everyone involved irrespective of their views. >> this is a way to keep the message alive. >> the lyric is pursue the truth, learn something new. >> respect yourself and respect others, too. >> let love shine. let pride be your guide. you change the world when you

change your mind. [♪ singing ] >> the very same lyrics they sang on national television. emily drew, al jazeera, new york. >> and the show's cocreator harvey joined the cast as they shot in drag at macy's department store. the jackpot is now $150 million, the fourth largest in u.s. history. lottery officials say never had a prize this large before the christmas holidays. good lucks. "the stream" is next. find more at www.aljazeera.com. thank you for your time.